Earlier this week I participated in the Raleigh Innovation Summit, which was held to create a unified vision for the city’s future in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship. Groups discussed creating an innovation center in Raleigh, branding Raleigh as a city of innovation, creating partnerships, and bringing more money to the region. A lot of great ideas were generated, and participants have been encouraged to keep sharing them. So in addition to what you’ll see in tweets (#innovateRAL), here are some of my ideas:
There’s been a lot of discussion among universities and others about the inclusion of the “free agency” concept in Section 7 of the Moran–Warner Startup Act. This is the idea proposed by the Kauffman Foundation to allow professors to choose their own agents to help transfer their technology rather than be tied to their home university’s technology transfer office (TTO). This post is not about the merits of the idea. I’m writing this post to point out some key questions that need to be answered for such a plan to be realistically implemented.
Has your tech transfer office set some resolutions for 2012? I’ve been doing some thinking about that, particularly in the context of the political landscape of late that TTOs must navigate. It’s certainly not news that in the last few years politics has been wagging the dog when it comes to tech transfer. And 2011 was no exception. For example, there was a big push toward using tech transfer to generate economic development and startups. But well-intentioned policies are not always aligned with what really brings value to technology communities, not to mention the universities and government labs where the technologies originate.
Last week I gave a presentation at a tech transfer workshop for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). This workshop was well timed, given President Obama’s recent memorandum announcing a new directive requiring all federal research labs to bolster and streamline technology transfer efforts to increase the likelihood and efficiency of getting research results to market. Attendees at the DoD meeting discussed the memo as well as possible solutions, as each agency has been tasked with presenting a plan back to the President on how they will achieve his goals. Possible solutions have been at the top of my mind recently as well….
I am proud of how Fuentek has offered knowledge leadership and training for tech transfer professionals across the U.S. through our white papers, webinars, and other educational services. Now, we’ve linked up with a company in Spain to expand that knowledge transfer to European organizations looking to increase the return on investment for research and development through tech transfer. Specifically, we’ve recently partnered with Knowledge Investors of Vigo, Spain, a company that collaborates with universities, companies, and investors to generate and develop business opportunities within the fields of science and technology. If you don’t speak Spanish, click the inglés link in the upper-right corner of their site….
Get useful tech transfer tips and news delivered right to your inbox!
By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive emails from: Fuentek, LLC. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link at the bottom of every email.
